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. 2022 Jan 7:12:763835.
doi: 10.3389/fneur.2021.763835. eCollection 2021.

Study of Brain Structure and Function in Chronic Mountain Sickness Based on fMRI

Haihua Bao  1 , Xin He  1 , Fangfang Wang  1 , Dongjie Kang  1
Affiliations

Study of Brain Structure and Function in Chronic Mountain Sickness Based on fMRI

Haihua Bao et al. Front Neurol. .

Abstract

Objective: Headache and memory impairment are the primary clinical symptoms of chronic mountain sickness (CMS). In this study, we used voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and the amplitude of the low-frequency fluctuation method (ALFF) based on blood oxygen level-dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging (BOLD-fMRI) to identify changes in the brain structure and function caused by CMS. Materials and Methods: T1W anatomical images and a resting-state functional MRI (fMRI) of the whole brain were performed in 24 patients diagnosed with CMS and 25 normal controls matched for age, sex, years of education, and living altitude. MRI images were acquired, followed by VBM and ALFF data analyses. Results: Compared with the control group, the CMS group had increased gray matter volume in the left cerebellum crus II area, left inferior temporal gyrus, right middle temporal gyrus, right insula, right caudate nucleus, and bilateral lentiform nucleus along with decreased gray matter volume in the left middle occipital gyrus and left middle temporal gyrus. White matter was decreased in the bilateral middle temporal gyrus and increased in the right Heschl's gyrus. Resting-state fMRI in patients with CMS showed increased spontaneous brain activity in the left supramarginal gyrus, left parahippocampal gyrus, and left middle temporal gyrus along with decreased spontaneous brain activity in the right cerebellum crus I area and right supplementary motor area. Conclusion: Patients with CMS had differences in gray and white matter volume and abnormal spontaneous brain activity in multiple brain regions compared to the controls. This suggests that long-term chronic hypoxia may induce changes in brain structure and function, resulting in CMS.

Keywords: amplitude of low frequency fluctuation (ALFF); brain; chronic mountain sickness; functional MRI; hypoxia; voxel-based morphometry (VBM).

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Maps of changed brain regions of gray matter in patients with chronic mountain sickness (CMS) compared with the control group. Areas in red are regions where gray matter volume was significantly increased: left cerebellum crus II area, left inferior temporal gyrus, right insula, right caudate nucleus, bilateral lentiform nucleus. Areas in blue are regions where gray matter volume was significantly decreased: left middle occipital gyrus, left middle temporal gyrus.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Maps of changed brain regions of white matter in patients with CMS compared with the control group. Areas in blue are regions where white matter volume was significantly decreased in the bilateral middle temporal gyrus. Areas in red are regions where white matter volume was significantly increased in the right Heschl's gyrus.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Maps of the amplitude of the low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) changes in patients with CMS compared with the control group. Areas in red are regions where ALFF value was significantly increased: left supramarginal gyrus, left parahippocampal gyrus, left middle temporal gyrus. Areas in blue are regions where ALFF value was significantly decreased: right cerebellum crus I area, right supplementary motor area.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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